Sam Ben-Meir
Sam Ben-Meir is a professor of philosophy and world religions at Mercy College in New York City.
The Art of Transformation: Vasily Kandinsky at the Guggenheim
The Russian-born artist Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was one of the early pioneers in the field of abstract painting – along with Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, and Hilma af Klint, among others. Through September 5,...
‘Mural’ Came From Deep in Pollock’s Unconscious
Since at least 2014, Mural (1943) has been on perpetual tour. So much has already been said about this large painting – books are devoted solely to the analysis of Jackson Pollock’s first great masterpiece. What...
Art as Liberation: The Mexican Muralists at the Whitney Museum
Vida Americana is an exhilarating, expansive and immensely satisfying exhibition at New York’s Whitney Museum. Like a great and varied feast, this is a show that one must take one’s time to fully appreciate...
OpEd: Power versus Duty in American politics
To anyone paying attention the last four years, Trump’s refusal to accept that he lost the 2020 presidential election fair and square could not truly come as a surprise. That he would never concede...
In memory of Michael Anderson, collage master
Last month the world lost an utterly unique and original American artist. Born in the Bronx in 1968, Michael Anderson was essentially a self-taught artist, internationally known for his large-scale collage which he made...
Spontaneous Lines: The Art of Rita Blitt
The bountiful new book, Rita Blitt: Around and Round (Tra Publishing, 2020), looks back at the long and prolific career of this notable American artist. If Blitt’s work is about anything then it is about the...
Kant on why we must not discriminate
The Supreme Court decided on June 15 that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination. Discrimination ‘because of sex’ is unlawful. But what is it that makes...
In memory of Danny Ben-Israel
On March 11, the world lost someone who was very special, who made a mark and touched people with his voice, as a singer, a humorist and writer. Born in Tel Aviv in 1944,...
Hilma af Klint and the birth of abstract art
The Guggenheim’s strange and wonderful exhibition of Hilma af Klint’s groundbreaking, yet largely unknown body of abstract art is an important event – one that challenges us to not only rethink the early history...